ARRL News

American Radio Relay League \| Ham Radio Association and Resources The American Radio Relay League (ARRL) is the national association for amateur radio, connecting hams around the U.S. with news, information and resources.
The ARRL Solar Update Solar activity reached high levels this past week when Region 4299 produced an M1.1 (R1/Minor) flare on December 6. Shortly after, the region produced an M8.1/2b (R3/Strong) flare, also on December 6. Associated with the M8.1 flare was a 1,100 SFU Tenflare, a 1,143 km/s Type II sweep and a Type IV sweep. (A "sweep" is a solar radio burst that sweeps through the RF spectrum as the energy moves outward...
Help Someone Get Their FIRST Ham Radio License by the End of 2025
FCC Allocates 60-Meter World-Wide Amateur Band Approved at WRC-15; Continues Amateur Use of Four Additional 60-Meter Channels, and Updates 420 MHz Coordination Information The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on December 9, 2025, released a long-awaited Report and Order adopting a new amateur radio spectrum allocation in the 60-meter band that was approved for world-wide use on a secondary basis in the WRC-15 (World Radiocommunication Conference 2015) Final Acts. The Commission also agreed with a petition from ARRL The National Association for Amateur Radi...
ARRL to Host 2026 HamSCI Workshop at Central Connecticut State University
The ARRL Solar Update Solar activity was at low levels this past week with only C class flares. Region 4294 remains the largest region on the disk but is appearing to be simplifying magnetically. Region 4296, on the other hand, gained a delta region in its intermediary region, though with no corresponding increase in flare activity as of yet. New flux emerged along the eastern side of Region 4298, resulting in several C f...
Operators/Monitors Wanted for Meteor Scatter QSO Party December 12-13
“Space Sailors” Seeking Download Help from Ham Radio Operators Update 12/4/2025 (See original story, below.) ChipSat Signals Received; Listeners Still Needed Updating the story, ‘Space Sailors’ Seeking Download Help from Ham Radio Operators,” posted on December 2, 2025, Cornell University’s “ChipSat”-equipped light sail was successfully deployed on December 3 and several dozen telemetry signals from its ChipSat flight computers have been received and decoded...
LIVE YouTube Telethon to Support ARRL Teachers Institute on Wireless Technology Don’t miss it! The annual YouTube telethon to raise money for the ARRL Teachers Institute on Wireless Technology will be held on Saturday, November 29, 2025, beginning at 3 PM EST / 12 PM PST, on the Ham Radio Crash Course YouTube channel, hosted by Josh Nass, KI6NAZ. Join Nass and several other amateur radio contributors for a fun and entertaining livestream. They’ll cover a variety of amateur ...
2025 ARRL Board of Directors Election Results ARRL The National Association for Amateur Radio® announces the results of the 2025 ARRL Division elections. In the ARRL Pacific Division, current Director John Litz, NZ6Q (1,270 votes), of Stockton, California, was declared the winner, defeating Bob Vallio, W6RGG (960 votes). In the Southeastern Division, current Director Mickey Baker, N4MB (1,596 votes), of West Palm Beach, Florida, was declared...
The ARRL Solar Update Solar activity has remained low this past week. The largest flare was a C9.9 on November 19 from a region just beyond the NE limb near N17. Region 4284 grew slightly in the early part of the period but was in decay after November 19. New Region 4287 was numbered. A Type II radio sweep (estimated at 695 km/s) was observed on November 19 at 2215 UTC, likely associated with a B9.0 flare from just beyond...
SKYWARN Recognition Day 2025 Cancelled NOAA’s National Weather Service (NWS) has announced the cancellation of SKYWARN™ Recognition Day (SRD) 2025. The necessary time and resources required to plan a comprehensive national event for SKYWARN™ Recognition Day 2025 are not available this year. Thus, the difficult decision was made to cancel this year's event by the NWS. The NWS will work with ARRL and SKYWARN™ spotters to brainstorm i...
ARRL VEC Ready to File 2,500+ Ham Radio License Applications; FCC Extends Renewal Filing Deadline *Updated 11/20/2025 (FCC System Issues Affecting Application Processing)* *Original story 11/18/2025* ARRL The National Association for Amateur Radio® reports that the FCC has extended the filing deadline to March 5, 2026, for amateur radio licenses that otherwise were due to expire from October 1, 2025, to March 5, 2026. The announcement is included in an FCC Public Notice (DA-25-943) released on Mo...
The ARRL Solar Update There were two nights of visible aurora throughout the continental US and dead HF bands due to a severe geomagnetic storm caused by what Space.com calls "a colossal X5.1 class solar flare" and associated coronal mass ejection (CME) on Tuesday, November 11. Spaceweather.com for November 14 reports that a NASA model of the latest CME suggests that it could deliver a glancing blow to our planet's magnet...
Get On the Air for 2025 ARRL November Sweepstakes Amateur radio operators throughout the US and Canada are getting ready for one of the most anticipated weekends of the year. The 2025 ARRL November Sweepstakes phone (SSB voice) contest takes place November 15 - 17, beginning at 2100 UTC Saturday and running through 0259 UTC Monday. The CW (Morse code) event was held 2 weeks ago, Nov. 1 - 3. November Sweepstakes, sponsored by ARRL The National A...
Images Beamed from Space Celebrate 25 Years of Ham Radio on the ISS Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) will mark two major milestones this month with a special Slow Scan Television (SSTV) event aboard the International Space Station (ISS). Beginning November 12 through November 20, the station will transmit a series of 12 commemorative SSTV images, pausing only for a scheduled educational contact. The “SSTV Spacetacular” will highlight both...